Although right whale numbers are dwindling, conservationists attribute their continued survival to the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
The landmark federal law — a half century old this year — has forced the fishing and commercial shipping industries to take important steps to help protect the critically endangered whales. And it’s spurred government agencies and scientists to undertake research.
A female North Atlantic right whale rolls on her back, revealing her pectoral flippers, on Cape Cod Bay in Massachusetts, Monday, March 27, 2023. The drive to protect vanishing whales has brought profound impacts to marine industries, and those changes are accelerating as the Endangered Species Act approaches its 50th anniversary.
A North Atlantic right whale surfaces, revealing the unique markings on its underside, in Cape Cod Bay in Massachusetts, Monday, March 27, 2023. The drive to protect vanishing whales has brought profound impacts to marine industries, and those changes are accelerating as the Endangered Species Act approaches its 50th anniversary.
A North Atlantic right whale dives in Cape Cod Bay in Massachusetts, Monday, March 27, 2023. The drive to protect vanishing whales has brought profound impacts to marine industries, and those changes are accelerating as the Endangered Species Act approaches its 50th anniversary. Few animals have brought more change to marine industries than the right whale, and conservationists say survival of the species, which numbers about 340 worldwide, is testament to the act’s importance.
In recent years, disagreements over the proper way to apply the act have increasingly brought the industry into court. “We need to have realistic approaches to how environmental management is handled,” Casoni said. “It becomes extremely costly for the industry to fight the ongoing litigation that’s brought forth by the environmental groups.”Maritime industries are subject to a host of restrictions aimed at protecting the rare whales.
The law’s protections are set to expand in coming years. On the East Coast, NOAA is crafting new and broader fishing restrictions to reduce the likelihood whales will suffer injury or death from entanglements in gear. The agency also is considering enlarged speed restriction zones that will apply to many shippers.
Vessels strikes and entanglements are two of the biggest threats whales face. But expansion of vessel traffic restrictions has also been met with resistance from shippers who fear compliance will be difficult, said Kathy Metcalf, president of the Chamber of Shipping of America.
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